Students from Food and Nutrition, Radiologic and Imaging Sciences, Occupational Therapy and Graduate Nursing represented the University of Southern Indiana at the 2026 CLARION National Interprofessional Case Competition, held April 17-18 at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. This marked the first time that USI participated in the national competition.
Eleven teams from universities across the country participated, with a total of 40 students representing different healthcare professions. Dr. Joy Cook, Associate Professor and Chair of Radiologic and Imaging Sciences; Dr. Jessica Mason, Associate Professor and Chair of Occupational Therapy; and Dr. Kelly Pruden, Assistant Professor of Nursing, accompanied the USI delegation.
“This experience allowed our students to engage in meaningful interprofessional collaboration while tackling real-world challenges," said Cook. "It was an inspiring opportunity that will shape their future practice and highlighted the importance of interprofessional collaboration.”
Students presented their analysis and initiatives in addressing common challenges that patients face throughout the colorectal cancer continuum of care. The case study was titled, Life Interrupted: Interprofessional Collaboration in the Colorectal Cancer Patient Journey.
"Participating in the CLARION Competition gave me the opportunity to collaborate with an interprofessional team to develop innovative pilot initiatives centered on colorectal cancer care," said Jade Browning '28, student in the Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) Program. "This experience strengthened my confidence in research, public speaking, creativity and collaboration with other healthcare professionals, and it was an experience I would highly recommend to other healthcare students."
The weekend events also included engaging activities hosted by the University of Minnesota’s MSimulation and the Health Sciences Library.
The following universities participated in the competition:
